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Thomas Chapin Film Project - July, 2013 -- The moving story of Connecticut native and NYC jazz man, the late Thomas Chapin, will begin to unfold for documentary film cameras starting July 8 at a Hartford, CT concert, which will feature musicians who knew him and played with him during his short but remarkable 20-year musical career.

Chapin, who passed away in 1998 from leukemia, is the subject of EMMY Award-winning filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo's 10th documentary. He is remembered as a brilliant bandleader, composer and multi-instrumentalist known for his energetic and virtuosic playing of alto sax and flute. He battled leukemia for a year before he died just as he was gaining wider recognition for his original style and his natural ability to play to both straight-ahead jazz audiences and adventurous avant jazz fans. This quality of crossing over, unique in jazz for the 80's and 90's, was just gaining the interest of major record labels.

Castillo decided to begin her shooting of the planned 90-minute NIGHT BIRD SONG: THE THOMAS CHAPIN STORY in the greater Hartford area, where Chapin was born and played in all his musical life. "When he was on the road with Lionel Hampton, or at the many and various gigs he played around the world, or just down the way from NYC and his gigs there, Thomas always came home to sit in and jam with his fellow musician friends. It's only fitting that we start our film shoot here," she said.

The July 8 concert at Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford will feature Chapin's longtime friends who played with him: bassist/composer Mario Pavone, drummer Steve Johns, trombonist Peter McEachern, and pianist Peter Madsen. It was at this place where Pavone, also a CT native, first heard Thomas Chapin play. Shortly after that eventful meeting, the two joined forces to play and compose together, forming the Thomas Chapin Trio, which during its seven-year run featured several drummers, including Steve Johns.